Wimbledon star pays tribute to Portuguese compatriot Diogo Jota before match at SW19

Tennis player Nuno Borges paid tribute to Diogo Jota hours before competing in a doubles match at Wimbledon. The sporting world has been rocked by the news of Liverpool star Jota's tragic death alongside his brother Andre Silva on Thursday following a car accident.

The fatal incident occurred in the Zamora province of Spain. The police's initial investigation revealed that a tyre blowout as the car was overtaking led to the crash. Many tributes have since been paid to Jota, who celebrated winning the Premier League with Liverpool last season. Portuguese tennis player Borges was one of the sportspeople to react to his passing hours before his first-round doubles match at Wimbledon, where chiefs have relaxed their strict dress code to allow players to wear black ribbon around their arm in memory of Jota.

Borges is partnered with American Marcos Giron for the men's doubles at the Grand Slam. They overcame Dutch pair Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6 6-1, but Borges' thoughts were first with Jota and his family on the morning of his match on court 11.

He posted a black-and-white image of Jota on Portugal duty on his Instagram story. He did not write a caption but accompanied the picture with broken heart and dove emojis.

Jota celebrated Portugal's second triumph in the Nations League in June. The forward also won the FA Cup and two League Cups during his five years at Liverpool.

Many tributes have already been paid to Jota, who married his long-term partner and the mother of his three children, Rute Cardoso, on June 22. His brother Andre, 26, was also a professional footballer for Portuguese side Penafiel.

An initial Liverpool club statement said: "Liverpool Football Club are devastated by the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The club have been informed the 28-year-old has passed away following a road traffic accident in Spain along with his brother, Andre.

"Liverpool FC will be making no further comment at this time and request the privacy of Diogo and Andre's family, friends, teammates and club staff is respected as they try to come to terms with an unimaginable loss."

Borges had already won twice in singles action at Wimbledon this year, defeating Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo and Brit Billy Harris on his journey to the third round, and the world No. 37 is hopeful that he is beginning to show his best form at SW19.

"I feel like this tournament could change everything for me," Borges told Ubitennis. "I think one match at a time and I'll worry about that in the end. It's much better if you think more about the long term than focus on this match. Try to develop my tennis overall, and not worry about the numbers so much. Just worry about the next match.

"That's how I've been thinking, and that's how I'm going to keep thinking because I think it helps me, maybe reach a new career high. I'll keep reaching. I think I can break it. But it's hard to know how far I can go. One match can change everything."